Effects of call reminders, short message services (SMS) reminders, and SMS immunization facts on childhood routine vaccination timing and completion in Ilorin, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Reminders via mobile devices deployed as short message services (SMS) or calls have been identified to be a useful strategy in improving routine immunization uptake in several countries. OBJECTIVE: To identify the timeliness of appointments with reminders (calls or SMS), SMS health education and the routine care, and the vaccination completion rates in Ilorin, Nigeria. METHOD: Mother-infant pairs presenting for the first vaccination appointment were randomized into four (three interventions, one control) groups, each consisting of 140 participants. Intervention groups were reminders via calls (A), SMS reminders (B), immunization fact SMS messages (C) and controls on usual care (D). Reminders were made a day before the appointment while SMS immunization facts were sent at five weeks, nine weeks and eight months. Appropriate timing was defined as the scheduled visit ±3 days. RESULTS: The immunization completion rates after the nine months' visit were 99.2%, 99.3%, 97% and 90.4% for Groups A, B, C and D respectively. Compared with controls, Group A had the highest odds [AOR 8.78 (6.10, 12.63)] of presenting at an appropriate time, followed by Group B [AOR 2.56 (1.96, 3.35)], then Group C [AOR 2.44 (1.87, 3.18)]. CONCLUSION: Reminders/SMS immunization facts improve vaccination completion rates.

Willingness of Mothers to Receive Reminders for Routine Vaccination Appointments in Northern Nigeria: A Multi-Centre Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Routine vaccination, a cost-effective means of preventing deadly childhood disease, has a low coverage in Nigeria. The study assessed the willingness of mothers to receive reminder messages for routine vaccination appointments in Northern Nigeria. METHODS: A multi-centre cross-sectional study involving at least 363 mother-infant pairs per centre from five states in Northern Nigeria. Data collected include the socio-demographic details, responses on parental phone ownership, mothers' willingness to receive reminders for immunization appointments and the reminder type characteristics. Data analysis was done with SPSS. RESULTS: Of the 1952 mother-infant pairs, ownership of at least one household phone was 97.7%. In total, 1613 (82.6%) mothers were willing to receive reminders. A majority (62.2%) of mothers preferred phone calls. A day before the vaccination appointment was the preferred timing (78.1%), and the predominant communication language was the local language for each region.The odds of being willing to receive reminders were 3.1 times, 2.6 times and 1.8 times higher in those with no formal education, primary education and secondary education, respectively, compared with mothers with tertiary education, each p < 0.05. Mothers who delivered at home were significantly less likely to want reminder messages (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: Eight of 10 women in Northern Nigeria are willing to receive a reminder for their child. The predominant mode of reminder preferred is phone calls using the local language. Deployment of mobile phone reminders strategy in Northern Nigeria as a means to improve vaccination uptake is feasible. The institution of this strategy can be in collaboration with service providers.

Determinants of Timely Presentation for Birth Dose Vaccination at an Immunization Centre in North-central Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Timely receipt of immunization is an essential prerequisite to ensure early protection of the child. However, a low proportion of children in Nigeria benefit from the timely administration of the birth dose vaccines. OBJECTIVES: These were identification of factors associated with timely presentation and reasons for presentation beyond 24 hours at an immunization centre in Ilorin, Nigeria. METHOD: A descriptive cross-sectional study involving 480 mother-infant pairs was conducted at an immunization centre. Socio-demographic, antenatal care (ANC) and delivery details, infant's birthday and day of presentation for vaccination were recorded. Logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with time to presentation within day one. FINDINGS: 239 (49.8%), 421 (87.7%) and 454 (94.6%) babies were vaccinated within days one, seven and 14 respectively. Post-secondary education level of mothers (OR = 3.60; 95% C.I: 1.30-9.91), antenatal care attendance (OR = 9.55; 95% C.I: 1.75-52.12), and hospital delivery (OR = 6.36; 95% C.I: 1.33-30.38) were associated with presentation within day one. Having correct knowledge of the immunization schedule increased the odds of early presentation by three times, p = 0.025. The commonest reason for presentation after day one for vaccination was weekend/public holiday delivery identified in 83 (35.2%) mother-infant pairs. CONCLUSION: Hospital delivery, attendance at antenatal care, postsecondary education and knowledge of the immunization schedule were factors associated with timely presentation for birth dose vaccination. Strategies to improve timeliness of the birth dose vaccination should target babies delivered outside the hospital as well as during weekends in the hospital. Also, inclusion of immunization into the health education curriculum of schools could be beneficial.

Acceptability of Reminders for Immunization Appointments via Mobile Devices by Mothers in Ilorin, Nigeria: A Cross-sectional Study.

OBJECTIVES: Immunization coverage in Nigeria remains low despite the protection it confers. Reminders via mobile phones may be deployed as a means of improving vaccination coverage but requires the participation and cooperation of the caregiver. Therefore, we evaluated the acceptability of reminders for immunization appointment by mothers in Ilorin, Nigeria. METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study recruited 526 mothers from two public hospitals in Ilorin. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect information on ownership and access to phones, willingness to receive reminders, household, antenatal, and delivery characteristics. RESULTS: The majority (92.7%) of mothers had a personal phone, and all willingly provided contact details. Over half (69.0%) of mothers were willing to receive reminders. Postsecondary education (odds ratio (OR) = 1.958; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.232-3.111) and antenatal care attendance by mothers (OR = 8.381; 95% CI: 2.495-28.170) were significant determinants of mothers willingness to receive reminders. Mothers with less than or equal to four children had a three-fold increased odds of wanting reminders. Artisan mothers were less likely to want reminders compared with unemployed mothers (OR = 0.506; 95% CI: 0.291-0.847). CONCLUSIONS: Most mothers are willing to receive reminders on immunization appointments via their mobile phone. Determinants of maternal willingness to receive reminders include mothers with less than four children, postsecondary education, and antenatal care attendance. Program planners should consider utilizing reminders as a strategy to increase the immunization uptake with access to contact details making this feasible.